Summer is not quite over, being that it is only mid-August, but the school year begins soon, effectively spelling the end of long lazy summer days for most kids. Try these nine family activities for an exciting end to your summer.

1. Make a memory book. Have everyone in the family get together and make a memory book or scrapbook. Collect photos from your summer or other scraps and artwork that would fit into a book of memories. This will give you a lasting memento of the good times you had over the summer.

2. Have a splashing good time. The summer usually means a good time around water. Throw a pool party or play around in the sprinklers. Have a water balloon fight with your family. Involve water while you still can, before the cold days of winter arrive.

3. Make summertime recipes. Pick out your favorite summertime recipes and make food and drinks with your family. Start with drinks like iced tea and lemonade, or pick another family favorite that you associate with summer. Then, make summer treats or throw a barbeque.

4. Throw a summer party. Get together with your family and throw an end of the summer bash for all of your friends. Your family can plan the party together, cook the food and make decorations. Take lots of photos of your party so you can remember the good time you had.

5. Go to the zoo. Summer is a great time to enjoy the zoo during your free time. Go to the zoo with your family one last time before school takes away much of that free time. It’s also a great way to learn about many different kinds of animals.

6. Play video games. Video games can be fun for the whole family. Some game consoles even have games that’ll get the whole family active. Choose a sports game, a family board game or a racing game and compete against your family for an exciting time together.

7. Go to the beach. The end of the summer might be one of your last opportunities to hit the beach this year. Wear sunscreen to protect your skin. Bring plenty of towels and beach toys. Build a sand castle with your kids. Bury one of your family members in the sand.

8. Get ready for school. Enjoy getting ready for the school year with your family. Find the fun in shopping for clothing and school supplies. Get the whole family involved. Allow your kids to make some of the clothing decisions and to pick out some of their favorite school supplies.

9. Relax at home. Enjoy some quiet time at home before the craziness of the school year starts. Order takeout and talk around the dinner table. Rent some family friendly movies to enjoy while you beat the heat together.

Pick one of these, or come up with your own end of summer activity ideas. The most important thing is that you take the time to enjoy your family. The end of summer can be an exciting time for your family to bond and experience priceless memories.

There was a time not too long ago when families didn’t have to go out and buy equipment to become fit. Time was spent rolling in the grass, playing in the yard, or jumping around on the floor instead of watching television or getting hooked on computer games. While it may seem those times are past, it’s not too late to remember when family fitness was naturally fun and look for some ways to make it that way again.

• Put on some old play clothes that you don’t mind getting grass stained and spend some outside family fitness time with the kids. Play in the yard. Grab a football and toss it around, or get out the mitts and baseball and play a game of catch. Volleyball, badminton, or tennis are excellent ways to enjoy the outdoors, and the workout you get will rival anything you’ll find in the gym.

• Teach your kids how to do a somersault. Somersaults are simple for even very young children. In case you’ve forgotten how, you simply have your child stand on a flat section of grass and lean over slightly with arms outstretched. He or she then places their hands on the ground, and tucking the head in close to the chest to prevent injury, they just “roll” forward landing in a sitting position. Children can also turn a somersault from a sitting position once they get used to “flipping” over. It’s very similar, just remind them to not let their heads touch the floor to avoid injury.

• Another great outdoor activity is turning cartwheels. Little girls, especially love this (but boys do, too!). Cartwheels are a basic gymnastics move and many children are able to do these at an early age as well, though they do require a little more coordination that somersaults. Turning cartwheels is great for strengthening the upper body and developing skills needed for later gymnastic efforts including handsprings or walk-offs. Allow plenty of room for turning a cartwheel. While a front to back cartwheel is common, side-to-side cartwheels are more popular so you can start with those. The method for doing cartwheels is lowering first one hand, then the other, then lowering one foot and then the other. Think of the spokes of a bicycle. You’ll become that wheel with your arms and legs the spokes. For the best results, keep your arms, legs, and back straight and strong as you turn. Cartwheels may take some practice, but even if children can’t turn them fully, they’ll have fun and get lots of exercise playing in the grass and rolling around on the ground.

There are hundreds of ways to play outdoors with the kids and get in a great workout at the same time. Just remember all the fun you used to have as a child and give your own children a taste of the same simple pleasures. You’ll be building family ties, strengthening the bond with your children, and helping them to develop healthy living habits at the same time. Nothing could be better than that!

Every child loves summer vacation. They’re free from schoolwork. They can wake up as late as they want to. And, they are free to hang out with their friends on weekdays. Summer vacation is truly the most exciting part of every child’s year.

Every summer vacation, though, must come to an end. You can avoid an abrupt ending and a house full of cranky children if you start the back-to-school preparation process a few weeks before class starts.

Utilize the tips below to minimize the sting of going back to school on your children.

1. Adjust their sleep schedule. Wean your kids into a school-ready sleeping schedule by making them fall asleep an hour earlier each week. Continue cutting back their bedtime until their sleeping patterns match those they’ll maintain throughout the school year.

2. Assign homework. It’s true that kids dislike homework. But it’s important to keep their minds sharp. On the Internet, you can find many places that offer free downloadable worksheets for children of all ages to complete outside of school. Websites like www.teach-nology.com, www.abcteach.com, and www.lessonplanet.com provide a wide variety of options. Keep it lighthearted. Try to assign fun homework assignments and be lenient in deadlines. After all, it is summer vacation and your kids deserve to spend some of their time relaxing. One assignment per subject that is due at the end of the week is plenty.

3. Tighten curfews. If you’re like most parents, you likely extend your children’s curfews throughout the summer. A few weeks before classes begin, be stricter about the time your children need to be home and which days they can go out with their friends.  Allow your children to keep their summer curfew active on Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday through Thursday, implement a “school-ready” curfew. This will mentally prepare your children for the new set of rules that will be in effect during the school year.

4. Make the change exciting. To your children, August is just the beginning of another boring school year. However, as a parent, you can’t help but marvel at the speed your babies are maturing! Help them see what you see by reminding them of all of the opportunities that will soon be available to them in the new school year.

Be firm about your decisions when preparing your kids for the change of going back to school. Most children are resistant when you first begin to implement these changes. However, after about a week or so, most children begin to accept the new routines.

Remember to take your children’s feelings and desires into account when designing your routine for getting ready to return to school. Kids have unique needs, and it’s important to let them know that their opinions are valuable. Be willing to give in a little and you’ll often receive a great deal of cooperation in return.

By implementing these changes, you’ll prepare your children well for going back to school. When school begins, it will be less of a shock to your children and the transition to a new daily routine will be an easier one for all.

Summer is a time that most kids look forward to. Free from the burden of school, kids love the free time and fun activities of summer. When it’s all over and it’s time to return to school, however, you can ease the transition by taking an active role in helping your children cope with the life change that’s about to take place.

Try these eight tips to help your children transition from the leisurely days of summer to the challenges of an upcoming school year:

• Talk about it. Keep an open dialogue with your children. If they have certain anxieties or reservations about attending school, help them ease their fears by giving them the opportunity to talk about it.
  • Help your children adopt a different perspective by pointing out the positives about school. School allows them to discover and develop new strengths. And they’ll be able to see their friends every day!
• Establish a school routine early. If you’ve lost your routine over the summer, try to get back on track as early as possible. If you go into the school year with a routine, you can avoid many difficult days and stressful situations.
• Throw a party. The end of summer can be a happy time. Celebrate the beginning of the school year by throwing a party or barbeque. This way, your children won’t dread school. Instead, they might look forward to the party and the school year.
• Continue hobbies. It’s important to remind your children that they’ll still have free time after school and on weekends. If they played most of the day during the summer, they’ll still have plenty of playtimes after school lets out. The hobbies that they enjoyed during the summer can continue on through the school year.
• Continue learning over the summer. One way to make the new beginning easier on your children is to limit their completely free time over the summer months. You can continue their education by providing educational activities and outings.
• Pick out first day outfits. Your children will be nervous and excited on the first day of school. They may even want to spend more time on their appearance. You can help them look forward to the first day of school by picking out special outfits to wear. Help them dress for success by helping them choose the perfect outfit.
• Shop for school supplies. Another activity that may get your kids excited about school is shopping for school supplies. Children sometimes have a specific list of items they’ll need. Let your child choose their own pens, paper and folders in their favorite colors.
• Take a trip to school. Often, fear of the new experiences to come can swallow a child’s enthusiasm for the new school year. If your child is attending a new school, bring him to school a day before the first official day of class. That way, he’ll know what to expect and feel more relaxed on the big day.

The new school year can be an exciting time for all. Stress always goes along with new situations. But if you put these tips into practice, your children will be better prepared and may even look forward to the first day of school.

Visit us at Operation Letters to Santa for almost 1000 pages of Holiday Activities, Christmas Carols, Christmas Sheet Music, Holiday recipes, Free gifts and downloads and so much more!

When the end of the summer rolls around, it’s time to get ready to go back to school. Before the summer officially ends, and autumn begins celebrate this time with an event that’s fun for the whole family. Take part in family activities that create unforgettable memories that will last a lifetime.

Try these nine family activities for an exciting end to your summer:  

1. Make a memory book. Have everyone in the family get together and make a memory book or scrapbook. Collect photos from your summer or other scraps and artwork that would fit into a book of memories. This will give you a lasting memento of the good times you had over the summer.
2. Have a splashing good time. The summer usually means a good time around water. Throw a pool party or play around in the sprinklers. Have a water balloon fight with your family. Involve water while you still can, before the cold days of winter arrive.
3. Make summertime recipes. Pick out your favorite summertime recipes and make food and drinks with your family. Start with drinks like iced tea and lemonade, or pick another family favorite that you associate with summer. Then, make summer treats or throw a barbeque.
4. Throw a end-of-summer party. Get together with your family and throw an end of the summer bash for all of your friends. Your family can plan the party together, cook the food and make decorations. Take lots of photos of your party so you can remember the good time you had.
5. Go to the zoo. Summer is a great time to enjoy the zoo during your free time. Go to the zoo with your family one last time before school takes away much of that free time. It’s also a great way to learn about many different kinds of animals.
6. Play video games. Video games can be fun for the whole family. Some game consoles, like the Nintendo Wii even have games that’ll get the whole family active. Choose a sports game, a family board game or a racing game and compete against your family for an exciting time together.
7. Go to the beach. The end of the summer might be one of your last opportunities to hit the beach this year. Wear sunscreen to protect your skin. Bring plenty of towels and beach toys. Build a sand castle with your kids. Bury one of your family members in the sand.
8. Get ready for school. Enjoy getting ready for the school year with your family. Find the fun in shopping for clothing and school supplies. Get the whole family involved. Allow your kids to make some of the clothing decisions and to pick out some of their favorite school supplies.
9. Relax at home. Enjoy some quiet time at home before the craziness of the school year starts. Order takeout and talk around the dinner table. Rent some family friendly movies to enjoy while you beat the heat together.

Pick one or more of these, or come up with your own end of summer activity ideas. The most important thing is that you take the time to enjoy your family. The end of summer can be an exciting time for your family to bond and experience priceless memories.

Visit us at Operation Letters to Santa for almost 1000 pages of Holiday Activities, Christmas Carols, Christmas Sheet Music, Holiday recipes, Free gifts and downloads and so much more!